Mia Bella Trattoria

I’ve been there 8 – 10 times over the past 3 – 4 years and get more and more disappointed every time. The first few times we were very impressed and really enjoyed it. The past few trips its almost been empty. We went on Friday night (⁹⁄₂) and there was one table with 4 people and us. Another table of 2 came in while we were eating but that was it. This should have been a wake up for me but my wife purchased a Groupon and it was getting closer to expiring.
It started on a down note when we realized the bar had no bottles in it. We were offered free wine with no explaination. Eventually we found out they lost (or as they say gave up) their liquour license but expect to get it back soon. Not sure what that was about but it was free wine. Keep in mind your choices are «red» or «white», but its free.
We started with the portabello mushrom in a port wine sauce. It was the highlight of the night. Mushroom cooked well and the sauce was tasty.
We ordered two fish dishes, sesame crusted tuna and halibut. Both were served with different risottos and steamed veggies. On the positive side, the steamed veggies were cooked to a tender crisp which is the way I like them. The risotto was acceptable but the fish was well overcooked.
The tuna was better suited for tuna salad. There was not one speck of pink inside so seared it was not. This made it well past dry and some mayo and relish «may» have helped.
The halibut was also overcooked and this made it very tough to chew. It had the texture of a med-​med/​well steak not a tender flakey fish has halibut should be.
Probably my last time there as its gotten worse every time I try to give them another chance. Too many other good restaurants to choose from here in Houston.

I will not return. We ordered the buchetta as an appetizer. It came out awfully quick and I could tell why. It was very soggy and I could tell it had been sitting around for a while.
Next, I ordered the Pappette — meatballs in whole wheat pasta. The pasta was old and stale. You can tell the difference between pasta that was made recently and days ago. It was chewy and tough. The meatballs was bland and the sauce was flavorless. There was hardly anyone there and I understand why based on the food.

Amazing! I loved it.
This is by far the best Italian restaurant I have ever been to. The food is amazing. Also– the service is great– the staff was extremely accommodating.
I am definitely coming back. This is a great date– place!

(Ate here a while back not on the day of the posting) We decided to dine here since we previously visited the downtown location and enjoyed the food. However this experience could not be any more different. When we first entered the restaurant there was a sewage like stench. The seafood dishes were not fresh and each entrée lacked flavor and seasoning. The only food item worth mentioning was the oil dip for the stale bread. I would not recommend this location. Go to the downtown one only or you will be so disappointed as we were.

Worst service ever… It took them 15 mins to take our order, bread came 25 mins later and after waiting over and hour for our food we couldn’t handle it, we left.

If you are going to go to a Mia Bella, DON’T come to the one on Lexington… or the one in the Pavilions for all that matter– the only one worth going to is the one on Main street.
Problems with this particular Mia Bella– it’s always empty because the house feels stuffy and it smells like mold.
Also, the menu seems to be the same, but for some reason the meals here make this place out to be the other locations’ more insipid, older sister who is never going to get married because she can’t cook.

This is just not what I expected. And it saddens me.
I’d probably have given this place 3 stars, if I didn’t know how awesome Mia Bella was when it first opened downtown years ago.
Do they have a different chef at this location? Or different recipes? Or what is it, exactly?
Thing is, Mia Bella opened as a chic, hip, tasty alternative to all the stuffy fancy Italian places that were in town 10 years ago. The staff was young, hip, and fairly knowledgeable. The menu was inventive and interesting. The wine list was fantastic. And, it was packed all the time. This was a bit more stuffy in appearance and the 1 – 2 page menu I remembered was now a leather-​bound book that I just couldn’t make it through.
I’m not sure what this space used to be. I’ve been told it was a really fancy-​dancy place back in the day. It looks like a refurbished fancy-​dancy place, but that’s not what I wanted in my Mia Bella experience. There was also an interesting smell that made me wonder if it had been flooded recently.
The oil dip was the same as I remember, and very tasty. The wine list left a little to be desired, but we found a nice Orvieto to wash down our appetizers. We also tried out their Mushroom Strudel (which I remember being fantastic). It was very tasty. So much so, that my mother didn’t really share much of it with us. It looked and tasted a little different than I remember, but still had all the elements that make it a signature dish.
Risotto Croquettes? Yes please. But I couldn’t really taste much of the promised stuffings. Maybe it was more «mixed in» than stuffed?
Crab Cake? I’m always wary of these. The flavors were interesting, and I appreciate the sweet/​savory combo more than most.
My folks:
Mom-«It kind of tastes like frozen crab.»
Dad-«You can taste crab?»
Personally, I enjoyed it. But I can see what they were saying on some level. With so many flavor combinations, the crab gets pretty overpowered.
The REAL disappointment was the Margherita Pizza. This place used to have my favorite Margherita pizza. I’m not sure what it was, but it was incredible. Maybe it was that the tomatoes and basil were mixed into a sauce and this one has no sauce. Either way, the dough wasn’t too crispy or too bready, but that kinda made it a little doughy. And, for lack of a better descriptor, this pizza just didn’t live up to the flavors of the pizza I was remembering.
I’m happy this group is doing well enough to expand, but when it’s as dead as it was tonight on a Saturday night, perhaps it would help to take a look and see where you’re lacking from your original ideals.

Been there for a couple Sunday brunches and dinner. Prices are very reasonable and portions are big. However, the food quality is inconsistent– I could get a wonderfully soft poached egg this Sunday or a extremely hard poached yolk the next weekend. Overall, this place gets 3 stars.

At my old job we would order dinner from here for those way too often late nights in the office. Having only tried their delivery/​take out food, I was not sure if it was the transit time or their efforts in preparing 10 – 15 to-​go orders, but the food was not that impressive.
When my old high school buddies decided to do a brunch together, Mia Bella was tossed out as a choice mainly for their bottomless «brunch» drinks (bloody marys, mimosas, etc).
When we got seated, i went with the the bottomless bloody marys. After my first one, they had ran out of bloody mary mix so I switched over to a mimosa and eventually just ordered champagne.
I love a good hollandaise sauce on a nicely poached egg. Unfortunately, that was not what i received when i got my eggs benedict. The yolk was not soft or runny and therefore not poached properly (which was also the case for everyone else who ordered it at the table).

Arrived for Happy Hour with a friend. An epic time was had by all. By that I mean, we killed 4 apps and I won’t tell you how many glasses of wine b/​c you will think we have problems.
I’m sure the staff was having a hoot at us becoming belligerent. They were still as friendly as ever. For about half the time, we were the only ones there and we were left to amuse ourselves. Never were our glasses empty. Kind of felt like they needed our plates back at the rate they kept asking, but then again that could have just been the paranoid tipsy me. At one point, I just let one of the bus boys take a plate, he kept hovering… I didn’t know what else to do!
Don’t worry we’ll be back to do more damage.
$ 3 glasses of wine and apps were the draw. Wild mushroom strudel was YUM.

Mamma Mia Mia Bella!
I’ve been here twice and had great experiences both times. My first venture was for brunch where they have a wide selection of different varieties of egg benedicts… one of my favorite breakfast foods. Score! I asked for the hollondaise sauce on the side since I don’t generally like my food drenched in sauce and they happily obliged. You can also order bottomless belinis, mimosas, bloody marys, and champagne for a steal at only $ 8.95.
Most recent experience was with a group of friends including Kevin Y for my birthday. I made reservations for 7:30 PM on a Friday and we had no problems getting seated. It was eerily empty for a Friday night but maybe it was because it was Good Friday. Since we were one of the few customers in there, the service we received was wonderful.
The appetizer salad was huge and quite delicious. I ordered the Insalata de Mela which contained Granny Smith apples, baby greens, candied pecans, cherry tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese, and grapefruit vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was PHENOMENAL. The perfect light refreshing mix of tartness, citrus, and sweetness. I just wish the salad had more candied pecans. I had the house made gnocchi di ricotta and was very happy that they didn’t skimp on the fresh basil! My friends had fun trying each other’s dishes too as they were all very good.
At the end of the meal, we went dessert crazy. Not quite sure what happened there as I ordered my complimentary birthday crème brûlée dessert (it was so creamy with a hard coating of sugar on top… oh perfection!) My friends then got the bread pudding, tiramisu, and chocolate oblivion cake. The bread pudding was HUGE but I thought it was strange it looked more like slabs of beef than anything else. Tiramisu was decent but the chocolate cake was a huge disappointment. As Kevin Y said, it had an acetone taste and I’m glad I didn’t try it! Turns out they had drizzled the cake with brandy but it was some brand they hadn’t tried before. We were all very glad that it wasn’t nail polish remover like we had all thought it was.
Stay away from the chocolate oblivion cake and I think you’d be very happy with this place.

I was prepared to be wooed by this place. It has all the makings of a spot that you make your favorite go to. It feels upscale without feeling snobby and cold. It feels like the food and the service is going to be good.
Instead, it’s pretty mediocre. The server was funny and tried to mask the food and poor service with a good personality. He took a while to get to our table, remembered to put in our appetizer, but absolutely forgot to put in our dishes. I was famished by the time he remembered, told us his mistake and my dish made it to me.
First, without eggplant on the menu, it’s immediately suspect. What good italian restaurant omits eggplant parm? We started with the goat cheese which was good but nothing that special. I can’t hate on it to bad just because it had ingredients I hate in it (capers and olives… gross).
The halibut fillet was ok but it had a bunch of bones in it, which freaked me out. The sauce and the risotto it came with were on the sweet side and the veggies were plain buttered and minimal. My friend’s tuna was more delicious and memorable, but the prices seem too high for food that is just ok.

Mia Bella is a great italian place. Not as snobby as others, and with great service, I highly recommend. Had the Pollo Mia Bella, Bellini, and appetizer salad.
The dessert was a bit strong on the brandy and ended up tasting a bit acetone-​like. Bring a date!

Had my birthday dinner here last year, and while the food and experience was overall good, it was also very forgettable.
I was calling around to various restaurants a few days before my bday, which is on New Year’s Eve. Since NYE is such a popular time, I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to find some place that would take my last minute reservation for a big group. But Mia Bella was able to squeeze me in, which I thought was great!
But then we arrived that night… and there were literally only two other tables there. And they had told me they were completely booked that night… ha. So I already knew that it wasn’t going to be that great of an experience if it wasn’t busy on a night like NYE.
The food was okay… overpriced and kind of small portions though. Thinking back, I honestly cannot remember anything that stood out from our meal. Don’t think I’ll be back again.

The lasagna de la pescatore was worth the wait… Pretty much the reason this isn’t a five star review.
While the food, ambiance, and energy were top notch, the service last Saturday night was sub-​par. Mixed up bar tabs, slow service, and a generally lackluster attitude truly put a damper or a potential gem. It took a complaint from our guest of honor to get the ball rolling on some very late food orders, which didn’t even prompt a visit to the table from management. I will return to Mia Bella (I can’t go the rest of my life without that lasagna, delicioso!) I just hope the service is better next time.

Ok so on the outside it is this cute little house. I automatically like places like this.
On the inside: cheesy décor, not a fan at all… sorry, it’s the truth
They are known for their bellinis — TOO SWEET. They get the job done though and if you like your bellinis frozen, you may love them.
All we had was a bellini so this is all I can review, but I prob will not be back… OH But there is a ROCKIN happy hour menu
Monday — 4 to close
every other day until 7
3 dollar drinks
3 dollar large appetizers… NOT BAD

I’ve been here twice now, once recently and I think the food tastes really good.
The restaurant is nice, a bit empty, but it was a weekday during lunch time so I can understand. Wait staff was very a nice, and a lady who seemed to be a manager or owner kept coming over to ask if everything was okay.
To start, my friend and I had the portabello mushroom with polenta, and it was very good, we had actually expected something different but it was essentially one huge portabello mushroom on a bed of polenta. The mushroom’s sauce was great and the mushroom itself was quite meaty and hearty.
I chose to make my own pasta, to my dismay they were out of gnocchi so I got bowtie pasta with the roasted red pepper sauce which us absolutely wonderful. I love love love this sauce. And it tasted even better the next day with my leftovers.
I would definitely say this is one of the better Italian places in Houston, and I want to try to the Moroccan place next door, I hear Thursday night’s are great there!

I took a date to Mia Bella and was not disappointed. I found it to be a nice, comfortable environment in which to sit and talk. Despite showing up about 10 minutes before the posted close time, we were never made to feel rushed, and the staff was very courteous the entire time. The food was very good, and the prices were much lower than what I expected. The mixed drinks I got were a bit light, but that is my only complaint.
Overall, I would say that this place didn’t exactly knock my socks off, but it was solidly above average, and I enjoyed my experience there. I will most likely return.

I’m real big on consistency. In fact the quickest way to lose my patronage is to be inconsistent on the food. I don’t even care if the service is inconsistent, but the food is a must. And Mia Bella over the course of my 6 or 7 years dining here has truly been consistent. The restaurant itself is nice inside but still very welcoming.
The menu is actually pretty extensive, having everything from cold and hot appetizers, salads, pizzas, pastas, and entrees. The gnocchi dish is one of my faves and the pan-​seared sesame-​ginger ahi tuna served on a bed of wild mushrooms risotto is quite frankly just damn good! The Salads and the pizzas are a must for a newbie, but really everything is good.
And for those of you who enjoy the vino, Tuesdays is their HALF PRICE wine night. I am sooo all about this.
I go to the location on Lexington, but even the one in downtown (last visited feb 08) is always good.
Also let it be known that this place is very reasonable and has a wide range of choices and prices. You can go there and eat for under $ 10, or eat for $ 50.

Oh how downtown can severely disappoint.
It was a Sunday night, pickings are slim, but Mia Bella has an attractive outdoor area.
The beginning: The sweet raisin bread (apparently made in-​house) is paired with olive oil, chili pepper, garlic, and parsley dip which is a strange combination that did not work. The pint of beer was less than a pint, and my glass of wine was short. Service was OK although the patio had three uncleared tables for 10 minutes which was odd.
The middle: Both our plates were microwaved (VERY hot on the edges, lukewarm in the middle). One rack of lamb was raw, the other was medium-​well done. My pasta was awful — the salmon tasted funny, and the Parmesan cheese (not traditionally served but that’s ok) smelled like those sealed packets of kraft parm in the supermarket.
The end: $ 73 for 1 beer, 1 glass of wine, and 2 entrees. Might as well splurge at 17 or voice at this rate. It was really abysmal.